SOME  plans  tor 
giving  the  ap¬ 
portionment  that 
have  passed  the 
test  of  experience 


SOME  PLANS  FOR  GIVING  THE  APPOR¬ 
TIONMENT  THAT  HAVE  PASSED 
THE  TEST  OF  EXPERIENCE 


I.  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  SUNDAY  OFFERING 

THE  method  most  generally  employed  to 
secure  funds  for  missionary  support  is  the 
Sunday  offering.  It  is  not  always  satisfactory 
because  the  weather,  journeys  to  Europe  and  Cali¬ 
fornia,  illness,  and  other  causes,  frequently  prevent 
all  the  members  of  the  congregation  from  sharing  in 
the  offering  on  a  given  day.  These  disadvantages 
can  be  removed  to  some  extent  by  the  use  of  a  pre¬ 
liminary  letter  enclosing  a  leaflet  giving  information 
about  the  purpose  for  which  the  offering  is  desired, 
and  an  envelope  which  will  ensure  the  contents  being 
applied  for  missions  at  whatever  time  it  is  placed 
upon  the  alms  basin. 

As  a  rule  an  offering  for  domestic  missions  and 
one  for  foreign  missions  secure  better  results  than 
one  offering  for  general  missions.  If  an  offering  for 
missions  among  the  Negroes,  and  an  offering  for 
missions  among  the  Indians,  can  be  taken  also,  so 
much  the  better. 

Letters,  leaflets  and  envelopes  for  offerings  for 
general  missions,  for  domestic  missions,  for  foreign 
missions,  for  missions  among  the  Negroes,  and  for 
missions  among  the  Indians,  can  be  obtained  in  any 
quantity  and  without  cost  from  The  Corresponding 
Secretary,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

The  adoption  of  this  method  has  generally  resulted 
in  a  larger  offering,  and  the  number  of  parishes  using 
it  is  steadily  increasing. 

This  method  is  still  more  effective  when,  instead 


of  using  a  general  letter,  a  letter  is  prepared  by  the 
rector  with  his  own  congregation  especially  in  mind. 
In  one  instance  that  has  recently  come  to  our  atten¬ 
tion  the  action  of  the  rector  in  using  this  plan  has 
resulted  in  increasing  the  offerings  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion  for  general  missions  from  less  than  $2,000  to 
more  than  $5,000 

II.  THE  INDIVIDUAL  APPORTIONMENT 

IN  some  instances  the  rector  of  the  parish  has 
taken  the  time  to  apportion  the  amount  asked 
for  from  his  congregation  among  the  members,  indi¬ 
cating  to  each  the  amount  he  considers  to  be  a  fair 
share  for  the  individual  to  give.  This  plan,  though 
not  widely  adopted,  has  worked  well  wherever  tried. 

III.  THE  DIVIDED  APPORTIONMENT 

THE  amount  of  the  apportionment  may  be 
divided  into  shares  and  the  members  of  the 
congregation  asked  to  select  the  amount  each  will 
give.  For  a  congregation  of  300  communicants  with 
an  apportionment  of  $275,  some  such  division  as 
this  might  be  suggested: 


2  contributors  at  $25.00  each  $50.00 

5 

“  10.00  “ 

50.00 

IO  “ 

“  5.00  “ 

50.00 

20  u 

“  2.00  “ 

40.00 

50  “ 

“  I. GO  “ 

50.00 

ICO  “ 

“  .50  “ 

50.00 

r- 

00 

29O.OO 

The  suggested  amounts  and  the  number  of  con- 


tributors  may  be  varied  indefinitely  in  accordance 
with  the  character  of  the  congregation.  This  plan 
has  been  tried  in  some  instances  with  marked  success. 
IV.  THE  DESIGNATED  OBJECT  PLAN 

IN  some  congregations  larger  gifits  result  from  the 
knowledge  that  what  is  given  will  be  used  for  the 
maintenance  of  some  particular  mission  or  missions. 
This  is  called  “a  designated  offering.”  It  means  tak¬ 
ing  shares  in  one  or  more  mission  stations.  A  con¬ 
gregation  may  designate  the  entire  amount  of  its 
apportionment,  for  one  station  at  home  or  abroad, 
provided  its  apportionment  is  not  larger  than  the 
appropriation  to  that  station,  or  it  may  divide  its 
offering  between  two  or  more  stations.  Under  this 
plan  it  is  better  for  the  sake  of  simplicity  to  take 
shares  of  $50  or  multiples  of  $50. 

V.  THE  SYSTEMATIC  SUBSCRIPTION  PLAN 

ONE  of  the  best  methods  for  securing  worthy 
offerings  for  the  support  of  missions  is  to  form 
a  missionary  committee,  composed  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  of  the  best  informed  and  therefore  most  inter¬ 
ested  men  and  women  of  the  congregation.  To  each 
member  of  this  committee  may  be  assigned  a  group 
of  twenty  or  twenty-five  members  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion,  each  of  whom  will  be  visited  by  a  member  of 
the  committee  and  asked  to  subscribe  towards  the 
apportionment  fund.  Many  a  person  who,  without 
any  intention  of  shirking  responsibility,  gives  an 
offering  for  missions  much  less  than  might  easily  be 
given,  will,  when  the  matter  is  presented  personally 
and  when  there  is  opportunity  for  questions  with 
regard  to  matters  of  administration,  use  of  funds, 
etc.,  give  much  more  largely, 

4 


VI.  AN  APPORTIONMENT  BULLETIN 

OCCASIONALLY  the  rector  of  a  parish,  in 
order  to  keep  facts  about  the  apportionment 
before  his  congregation,  has  placed  an  apportionment 
bulletin  in  the  vestibule  of  the  church.  This  shows 
the  amount  of  the  apportionment  for  general  missions 
and  sometimes  for  diocesan  missions  as  well.  Below 
is  the  amount  received  on  these  accounts,  the  figures 
being  changed  from  time  to  time  as  gifts  or  offerings 
are  made.  The  third  line  shows  the  amount  still  to 
be  given.  A  plan  such  as  this  can  be  adapted  to 
any  or  all  of  the  methods  already  touched  upon. 
Besides  being  useful  in  itself,  it  suggests  the  import¬ 
ance  of  keeping  the  congregation  informed,  whatever 
method  may  be  adopted,  with  regard  to  the  progress 
being  made  to  raise  the  full  apportionment.  It 
seems  particularly  desirable  whenever  an  offering  for 
missions  is  taken  that  a  statement  should  be  made 
on  the  following  Sunday  of  the  amount  received, 
whether  it  is  sufficient  to  meet  the  apportionment, 
and  if  not,  how  much  still  remains  to  be  given. 

VIE  SOME  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

WHATEVER  method  is  adopted  for  raising 
the  apportionment,  certain  general  facts 
should  be  borne  in  mind. 

l.  Missionary  Intercession 

It  is  most  important  to  cultivate  in  the  congrega¬ 
tion  the  habit  of  missionary  intercession.  The  fre¬ 
quent  use,  at  regular  services  of  the  Church,  of  the 
prayer  for  missions  included  in  the  special  prayers 
in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  the  use,  on 
special  occasions,  of  prayers  such  as  those  contained 

5 


in  the  pamphlet  “  Prayers  for  Missions’’  (10  cts.), 
leaflet  No.  920  (free), and  the  Church  Calendar  (free) 
all  to  be  obtained  from  the  Corresponding  Secre¬ 
tary,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  will  help  to 
suggest  to  many  the  use  of  definite  intercessions  for 
missions  in  their  private  devotions. 

2.  Missionary  Information 

But  intelligent  prayer  can  only  be  offered  for 
objects  concerning  which  the  congregation  has  infor¬ 
mation.  Therefore  definite  instruction,  not  only 
about  the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  giving  for 
missions,  but  about  the  methods  and  results  of  mis¬ 
sions,  is  a  condition  of  success  in  arousing  sufficient 
interest  to  pray  for  and  give  to,  missions.  The  best 
hand-book  for  up-to-date  missionary  facts  is  The 
Spirit  of  Missions.  A  Cleveland  clergyman  said 
recently  that  of  all  the  sermons  on  missions  that  he 
had  preached,  the  one  that  had  most  interested  his 
people  and  had  proved  most  effective,  was  based 
largely  upon  the  information  secured  from  the  late 
issues  of  The  Spirit  of  Missions.  No  one  need 
hesitate  about  using  facts  from  The  Spirit  of  Mis¬ 
sions  because  they  are  already  in  print.  The  pres¬ 
ent  number  of  subscribers  is  only  about  one  in  every 
fifty  of  the  communicants  of  the  Church.  Experi¬ 
ence  has  shown  that  even  if  a  few  people  have  already 
read  a  statement,  the  fact  that  they  have  read  it 
before  only  interests  them  the  more  to  hear  it 
repeated. 

Two  suggestive  handbooks  for  the  use  of  the 
clergy  are:  Mr.  Eugene  Stock’s  “Short  Handbook 
of  Missions”  and  Mr.  John  R.  Mott’s  “The  Pastor 
and  Modern  Missions.”  The  former  deals  with  the 

6 


general  principles  and  methods,  results  and  needs  of 
the  missionary  enterprise.  The  latter  tells  how 
many  clergymen  are  furthering  missionary  interests, 
and,  in  doing  so  are  strengthening  their  congregations 
numerically,  spiritually  and  financially.  By  special 
arrangement  The  Spirit  of  Missions  can  supply 
these  books  to  the  clergy  at  50  cents  for  the  former 
and  $ 1. 00  for  the  latter.  In  both  cases  postpaid. 

3.  The  Spirit  of  Missions 

The  circulation  of  The  Spirit*?/  Missions  is  one 
of  the  most  effective  methods  of  arousing  missionary 
interest.  Thousands  of  people  through  The  Spirit 
of  Missions  have  learned  that  a  missionary  magazine 
can  be  just  as  interesting  as  any  other  magazine. 
Whether  or  not  the  members  of  the  congregation 
see  The  Spirit  of  Missions  depends  almost  entirely 
upon  the  clergyman.  If  he  will  commend  it  pub¬ 
licly  and  privately,  request  parishioners  as  occasion 
offers  to  subscribe  for  it,  make  mention  from  time  to 
time  of  some  article  or  incident  it  contains,  much 
may  be  done,  to  increase  its  circulation.  Advan¬ 
tageous  club  rates  are  offered.  Correspondence  is 
invited.  Address  The  Spirit  of  Missions,  281 
Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

Missionary  Recruits 

It  is  desirable  to  keep  the  importance  of  securing 
recruits  for  the  mission  field  before  the  minds  of  the 
congregation.  At  first  sight  this  may  not  seem  to 
have  any  bearing  upon  the  giving  of  the  apportion¬ 
ment,  but  it  is  an  almost  invariable  experience  that 
a  congregation  that  gives  a  missionary  is  more  than 
ready  to  give  for  missions. 

7 


VIII.  “WE  CAN  DO  IT  IF  WE  WILL” 


It  is  important  that  the  parish  authorities  should 
maintain  a  spirit  of  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
congregation  to  do  what  is  suggested.  Nothing  will 
more  surely  dry  up  the  springs  of  congregational 
giving  than  the  impression  that  the  parish  leaders  are 
indifferent  about  the  matter  or  think  that  the  appor¬ 
tionment  is  too  large.  No  plan  is  free  from  inequali¬ 
ties,  but  they  can  be  removed  and  remedied  from 
time  to  time.  The  important  thing  is  to  approach 
the  task  of  raising  the  apportionment  confident  that 
it  can  be  done  successfully.  To  say  to  the  congre¬ 
gation,  “Our  apportionment  is  too  large  and  we 
cannot  hope  to  give  it  all,”  is  to  discount  whatever 
plan  may  be  adopted  and  to  invite  excuses  for  failure 
to  make  some  real  and  worthy  effort.  On  the  other 
hand  to  take  the  ground  that  it  is  no  less  a  privilege 
than  a  duty  to  share  in  paying  the  bills  for  mission¬ 
ary  support,  and  to  emphasize  the  ability  to  do  what 
is  asked,  is  to  ensure  if  not  complete  success  at  once, 
at  least  a  growing  desire  to  reach  a  high  standard  of 
missionary  giving. 

An  analyzed  apportionment  often  ceases  ro  be 
formidable.  In  the  bulk  it  may  seem  large;  broken 
up  into  shares  as  indicated  on  page  3,  or  com¬ 
pared  with  not  merely  the  number  of  communicants, 
but  the  number  of  parishioners,  the  ability  of  the 
average  congregation  to  do  what  is  asked  generally 
becomes  apparent. 

c,  All  offerings  for  missions  should  be  sent  to  George  C.  Thomas, 
Treasurer,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

^Copies  of  this  leaflet  may  be  had  in  any  quantity  by  asking  the 
Corresponding  Secretary,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  for 
leaflet  No.  982. 

8 


Edition  Nov.  '08.  2M. 


